Tainted Victory
by Raphs No.1 Girl
Summary: Caught by surprise, can the turtles survive this attack? Short story, my first TMNT fanfic. Please R&R would appreciate constructive criticism, if appropriate . Thanks. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

_**DISCLAIMER:**__ I do not own TMNT – though I wish I did. ___

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"Hey guys, has anyone seen Leo? I wanna practise my sparring with him," Mikey came hurtling into the room.

Donny looked up from his work, welder still burning in his hand – he was upgrading the armour on the Turtle Taxi, to repair it after its last run-in with The Purple Dragons. "Nope, haven't seen him since this morning – he went out to blow off steam. He's been thinking about Karai a lot – after our last battle with her, and how we nearly…well, it really affected him. He's been mediating a lot lately as a result."

Raph was knocking the stuffing out of his punching-bag, "Hey, Mikey, since Leo's not here, why not practise your sparring with me?" He grinned wickedly at Mikey, who gulped, as he watched how hard Raph was hitting the bag – he was clearly not in the best of moods today, and Mikey certainly didn't want to go up against him while he was like this.

"Oh, that's okay, Raph. I'd much rather read my comics than train, anyway."

"Alright, Mikey, if you say so. But personally, I'd enjoy the work out on a moving target. He he." Raph strode over to Mikey, who took a couple of steps back. "C'mon Mikey, you ain't chicken are ya? Bwack, bwack, bwack." He made chicken-wing motions with his arms, to further provoke Mikey.

"Raphie, Raphie, Raphie. When are you gonna get it? I'm not a chicken – I'm the…"

"Don't you dare say it!" chorused both Raph and Donny.

"…Battle Nexus Champion!" crowed Mikey, before bursting into peals of laughter.

"Oh no…" sighed Donny, quickly pulling down his welding mask and returning to his work. This was not going to be a pretty sight.

"That's it, laughing boy, you've just earned yourself a one-way ticket to Hurty-Town!" Raph jumped on Mikey and was about to begin raining punches down on Mikey when…

"Raphael!" Raph paused, his fist clenched and just inches away form delivering a blow to Mikey's fear-stricken face. He turned his head to see Master Splinter standing a few feet away, a frown upon his face. Raph stood up, releasing Mikey, and went off into the kitchen, glancing at his sensei as he passed. Mikey breathed a sigh of relief, but he had not gone unnoticed by Mater Splinter. As he attempted to sneak off to his room to his beloved comic books, he felt a sharp _thwack! _against the back of his head.

"Michaelangelo!" Master Splinter reprimanded, "Why are you not training with Leonardo?"

"Erm, sensei, Leo's not here. And Donny's working, and Raph – well, he's Raph. So I don't have anyone to be training with."

"Where is Leonardo? He knows this is when the two of you should be training – it is not like him to miss a session."

"In case you haven't noticed, Master, Leo's been going AWAL a lot since our last fight with Karai." Raphael ambled into the room, crumpling a can of soda in his hand and throwing it to one side.

"Hmmm." Master Splinter frowned, deep in thought. He hoped this was not going to be like the aftermath of their battle with the Utrom Shredder, when he had attempted to leave Earth – Leonardo had become withdrawn, and acted very out-of-character, and Master Splinter feared that bringing him round a second-time would be twice as impossible as it had been the first time. "You must try to be understanding of your brother – he bears the weight of failure very heavily, even more so when he feels he has let his family down. We must be patient, and allow him to purge his mind of these thoughts in his own way. For now, Michaelangelo, you shall train with me. We can begin with a meditation session - come, my son." Mikey groaned – meditation was not his best subject by a long shot, and he found it difficult to sit still for long periods of time. But, he dutifully followed his sensei, not wishing to earn himself another smack from his cane.

Raph went back to his punching bag, and Donny continued his work. Suddenly, they felt a slight trembling from beneath the floor of the lair, accompanied by a low rumbling sound. With each passing second, the noise got louder, and the shaking more violent, until the rumbling was more like a roar and debris began to fall form the ceiling. Mikey and Master Splinter rushed into the main room. "What's happening, Donny? Is it an earthquake?" shouted Mikey.

"I don't think so, Mikey." His brother replied.

"Then what the shell is going on?" growled Raph. Glancing at Donny's bewildered expression, the leader in Raphael took over. "Well, whatevas goin' on, we gotta get out of here!" Pulling Donny, the two raced to where Mikey and Master splinter were standing. Before they got a chance to leave, they were distracted by a load cracking sound. They spun round to see the floor in the centre of the room crumbling away, followed by a monstrous machine emerging from the hole that had been formed.

"It's a tunnelling machine!" Donny gasped – but he was to gasp even more when he saw the logo emblazoned on the side of it – it was none other than the three-toed symbol of the Foot!


	2. Chapter 2

_**DISCLAIMER:**__ I do not own TMNT – though I wish I did. ___

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"The Foot- but how did they find us?" Raph gritted his teeth – he had been wanting a fight all day, and now it looked like he was going to get one. Master Splinter's frown deepened,

"I do not know, my son. But they have found us, nonetheless. We must ask questions later – for now, we must prepare ourselves for the battle ahead."

"Oh man, I really wish Leo were here right now." Mikey groaned – Leo was the one with the plans, he was the one that co-ordinated their attacks. Without him, Mikey felt lost.

Then, the door of the tunneler burst open. Some Foot Ninja scrambled out, and formed a ring around the vehicle. The turtles knew who would step out next. It was Karai, clad in her Shredder's armour. "Well, well turtles. I doubt you expected me to find you here, but now that I have, you shall all pay for your crimes against me and my father! I warned you last time we met that the next time I saw you I would be your doom, but not even I could have dreamt that day would come so soon. But let's not waste nay more time – Foot Ninja, attack!" The Ninjas surged forward, and in the blink of an eye Raph had drawn his Sais and was rushing forward to meet the oncoming wave of Foot Ninjas. Don and Mikey quickly followed suit, drawing their own weapons, as did Master Splinter. They clashed with their foes, three or for ninjas to each of the guys. Luckily, these were not the Foot-Tech ninjas, or they wouldn't have stood a chance – either Karai thought they would not be needed because of the element of surprise, or she was saving them for later on in the battle. However, for all their progress, for every one ninja they brought down, three more seemed to fill his place. But they knew they could not stop, so they continued to fight, until eventually they were near enough to Karai to turn their attentions to her. Raph lunged for her, his sai glinting as he went in to hit her. From out of no where, the Shredder's Honour Guards appeared, knocking him away. He hit the wall with a groan. Mikey and Donny now rushed for Karai, while Master Splinter tried to distract the Honour Guards. Donny hit Karai with his bow staff. He managed to cause some damage to her armour, but she swiped at him, sending him flying to the other side of the room. Mikey, too, attempted to hit Karai, but was spotted by an Honour Guard who kicked him aside before he could deliver the blow. Just then, Leo came running into the lair – Donny had managed to get a message to him via Shell-Cell, and he had come as fast as he could to defend his family. He drew his Katana and rushed to aid his brothers fight the Honour Guards. By now, Raph was running towards Karai, and Donny, Mikey, Leo, and Master Splinter were occupying the Honour Guards. He knew this was his only chance to get rid of Karai – while her attention was distracted with his brothers' and sensei's battle with her Guards. With a roar, Raph leaped at Karai. She turned in shock, but had no time to react. Raph spotted a weak spot in her chest plate and, as he leapt on to her, he plunged his sai into that spot. With a blood-curdling cry, Karai fell to her knees. She looked up at Raph, her eyes full of evil mirth, and laughed, before falling down, never to move again. The Honour Guards forgot their battle with the turtles, and instead hurried over to attend to their mistress' body. In a flash, they had disappeared, along with the remnants of the Foot army. The guys stood in shock for a moment, before rushing over to Raph, whooping and cheering.

"Wow, Raph, you did it." Mikey congratulated him.

"Yeah, I guess I…" Suddenly, Raph collapsed, holding his side. Donny rushed to him to see what was wrong; he looked in horror at the huge gash in Raph's side. Blood was now pouring from it, and without his equipment, Donny could do nothing to stop it.

"Mikey, quick, grab my bag!" Donny cried, but there was no need as he was already running over to the lab to get it. Master Splinter knelt, cradling Raph's head in his lap, and Leo knelt down by Raph's side. Tears filled his eyes as he said,

"I'm sorry, Raph, I should've been here. I could've done something. I…"

Raph opened his eyes, and put his hand on his older brother's shoulder. "It's okay, Leo. It wasn't your fault," he whispered. "You couldn't have known. I don't blame you. I…" He lost consciousness.

By now, Mikey had arrived with Donny's bag. "Is he….?" He asked, looking at Raph's motionless body, tears streaming down his face.

"No, but he might be if we can't treat him soon." Donny's frown increased with worry, as he rummaged in his kit for the equipment he needed.

"I don't understand – how did this happen?" Mikey asked, puzzled. "He stabbed Karai – how did he get hurt?"

"Hmmm. She must have slashed him with her gauntlet, just as he stabbed her. But, either way, he's hurt, and we have to treat him. At the rate he's losing blood, if I can't stop the bleed, we're going to lose him. Press this firmly, just here, Leo." Raph groaned faintly as Leo pushed the pad on, to try to stop the bleed. Silent tears began to fall down Leo's face – he couldn't let his brother die. Though he and Raph had their disagreements, they were still brothers, and they cared for each other. Leo knew Raph could be relied upon if things got tough – though he was hot-tempered, he was also loyal to a fault. Donny carefully began to stitch up Raph's wound, but he knew it would be touch and go – Raph had lost a lot of blood. They would also need antibiotics – he didn't have any, but April might. They would need somewhere else to go anyway – they couldn't stay in the lair now, both because its location was no longer secret, and because it had been totally wrecked by Karai's tunnelling machine. Mikey took out his shell-cell and called April – she said that of course they could stay with her. Carrying Raph on a makeshift stretcher, they all clambered into the Battle shell, and hurried over to April's.


	3. Chapter 3

_**DISCLAIMER:**__ I do not own TMNT – though I wish I did. ___

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When they arrived, they found that April had already prepared a bed for Raph on the living room sofa, and had laid out sleeping bag for the rest of the guys – she knew they would want to be near each other. They carefully manoeuvred Raph onto the sofa, and Donny injected some antibiotics into Raph.

"So, what happens now?" asked Mikey.

"We wait," replied Donny. He glanced at his brother, lying there pale and inert on the sofa.

"We wait!" Leo yelled, "Is there nothing more you can do for him Don? Can't you…"

"My son!" Master Splinter interrupted, "I understand your anger and your upset, but Donatello has done everything he can. We must now be patient. Raphael has always been strong, and we just have to believe he can fight his way through this." Master Splinter then settled himself in a chair. "Now my sons, you should all rest." He then closed his eyes, and began to meditate.

"You and Donny should rest," Leo ordered.

"But Leo…" Donny began, but Leo cut him off.

"Don't worry, Donny. I'll wake you if anything happens. Sleep now. You, too, Mikey."

"You sure, bro?" Mikey asked, trying to hide a yawn. Leo gave a faint smile, and nodded. Mikey lay down, and was soon asleep. Donny reluctantly did the same. Leo sat there for hours, just looking at Raph's face, willing him to show some sign of recovery. Nothing. He was still watching when Donny and Mikey woke up.

"C'mon, Leo. We'll watch him now," Mikey said, putting a hand on his shoulder. Leo's eyes did not move from Raph's face. Mikey looked at Donny, who just shrugged. Mikey then went into the kitchen to get something to eat. Donny checked Raph over, and administered some more antibiotics. April came in a couple of times, but didn't stay in there long – she understood that the family would probably rather be alone.

Leo did not sleep; he kept turning things over in his mind. Karai, the Shredder, was finally gone. They would never be troubled by her again. But what price would they have to pay? If losing Raph was the cost, he wished that the clock could be turned back. He would rather face Karai a thousand times than lose a brother. He should have been there; he should have protected his brothers. It should have been him lying there. If only he had not left them there alone. If only he had been the leader, the protector, that he should have been. What if he had gotten there earlier? What if he had been there? If only, if only, what if, what if… His reverie was interrupted by a sound from the sofa. He rushed over.

Raph was beginning to stir. He struggled to open his eyes, seeing the blurry faces of his brothers before him. He tried to sit up, but failed. Donny, worried that he would pull the stitches, told him to stay still. Leo elevated Raph's head a little, so that he could have some water, before gently laying him back down. He then drifted back off to sleep. He woke up a few hours later, just as Donny was injecting more antibiotics into his arm.

"Hey, Raph. How are you feeling?"

"Been better," he replied. "What…what happened? One minute I was fighting Karai, the next…" He groaned. He couldn't remember what had happened next. Donny frowned a little, and a look of concern sprung onto Raph's face. "What is it, Don? Did something happen? Is Mikey okay? What about Leo…" He tried to sit up, desperately trying to see if his brothers were nearby. Donny shoved his shoulders back down,

"They're fine, Raph. It's you we were all worried about." Raph looked a little confused, so Donny explained what had happened.

"You stabbed Karai – you finished her. But she must have slashed you with her gauntlet. You had a large gash in your side – you lost so much blood. We weren't sure whether you were going to make it." Just then, Leo and Mikey came back into the room, followed by Master Splinter. When they saw he was awake, they all rushed over to Raph.

"Raph – you're alright!" Mikey said giving him a hug. Raph winced a little, but hid it behind a smile.

"'Course, I'm okay. Ya didn' think ya were gonna get rid o' me that easy, did ya?" Raph responded. Mikey gave a small chuckle, before running off to get Casey and April. Raph glanced over at Leo, who was standing a few feet away. "So, fearless leader, what are we gonna do now Karai's history?" Leo blinked at Raph a couple of times. He didn't know what to say – he had expected Raph to blame him for what happened, he had thought…

"Well, Raph," he replied, "First, you have to let yourself heal. Donny reckons that won't be for a few months yet. So I guess our schedule is clear for the next few months."

"Months?" Raph snorted, "I ain't sitting still for that long. I'm already aching to kick some butt!"

Everyone laughed with relief – it was good to have Raph back again.

So, there we are – that's the end of my first ever TMNT fanfic. Please R&R – I would appreciate your comments, so that I can make future fanfics much better. Thanks!


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